CR Denning is a sophomore studying philosophy.
The elections are over, and I’ve managed to continue a trend of never voting for the winning candidate in any major election. That’s because I don’t vote Republican. Or Democrat.
I don’t see the choice between Republican and Democrat as a real choice. This false dichotomy was satirized during the 2000 presidential election by a group calling themselves “Billionaires for Bush (or Gore).”
Since then, we’ve had eight years with a Republican president, almost seven years with a Democrat, and control of the House and Senate has oscillated from Republican to Democrat and back again. But what has changed, really?
The national debt is about $18 trillion. That’s roughly $56,000 per U.S. citizen. And it continues to grow, regardless of which party controls the White House or Congress.
My liberal friends lambasted then-President George W. Bush for his “illegal wars,” but President Barack Obama has continued Bush’s warmongering legacy through drone warfare and calls for military action against ISIS.
While economic issues and foreign affairs tend to become fodder for a never-ending blame game, there is at least one thread that unites the disenfranchised on both the left and the right. We’re tired of the corrupting influence of money on politics. We’re tired of corporate welfare. We’re tired of special-interest groups and lobbyists owning our politicians.
The Occupy movement, and to a lesser degree, the Tea Party, formed as responses to the growing belief that our current system best serves those with the pocketbooks to fund campaigns. Many of the Occupy protesters identified as socialists. Many identified as anarchists. But their differences were secondary to that what they had in common.
The “change” Obama promised never arrived, and despite Democrats’ fears, the new Republican Congress won’t change anything either. If we want real change, and transparency and integrity, we have to change the system. But in order to make that kind of systemic change, we have to work together to disrupt the status quo.
So how do we affect change? A good start would be to vote independent. In presidential races, third-party candidates traditionally don’t get enough attention to be allowed into the debates. According to CBS News, the Commission on Presidential Debates mandates candidates must have “at least 15 percent support in national polls to participate,” effectively shutting out independent candidates. And it’s a catch-22 for independents—they don’t get enough attention because they’re not allowed in the debates.
In high school civics, you may have learned the phrase “glittering generality.” It’s a term for politician-speak—statements so general and lofty that they have no true meaning. The debates, speeches and campaign ads of establishment politicians are rife with them. Career Republicans and Democrats alike are aces at using many words to say absolutely nothing. I’d love to see what would happen if we throw a serious third-party candidate in the ring with them, someone not dependent on backroom deals to secure his or her nomination.
The beauty of this strategy is that the independent candidate doesn’t have to win—at least, not a first. But a third-party presence could keep establishment politicians in line and prevent them from trying so hard to dupe us.
I’m tired of these two parties trying to deceive us. That’s why I’ve never picked a winning candidate. I know my vote isn’t getting anyone elected, but I’m voting my conscience. I’m voting for real change.
Maybe you’re disappointed with this year’s election results. I am. If so, ask yourself, over the next two years, what you want from your government. If you decide you want more than vague promises from candidates who care more about those with deep pocketbooks than they do about you, next time, try a different strategy at the polls.